Asma' Allah-Sami Yusuf

                                             
Simply beautiful :). I love that the video shows the diversity of Muslims. Muslims are Arabs, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Hijabis, non-Hijabis, Black, White, Sunni, Shia, and a sea of other things. We are different, but in the end we unite under la ilaha ilalah.

The Other Side-Sh. Omar Suleiman

                
At the ICNA youth conference I attended a few weeks ago, I heard Sheikh Omar Suleiman speak. This is a recording of the lecture he gave that day that truly left people in tears. Sheikh Omar Suleiman advises the youth to treat their parents well  and to realize the importance of their parents. Our parents raised us from the moment that we were born until now. No matter how hard we try to repay them for all that they have done for us, we can't. We tend to forget that while we are growing up and moving on with our lives, are parents are too. Our parents won't be here forever, so as he explains in the lecture, don't let the doors to jannah close. Treat your parents right and tell them you love them before it's too late.

Take a Chance

When we find the things that we love, we hide out of fear of getting hurt. Take a chance on love because if you don't, you may miss out on an opportunity of a life time. 

ICNA Youth Conference

Meeting the challenges, Making the Change 

Young Muslims held their first youth conference in the Greater Washington D.C. area on Saturday where many came together underneath one roof to obtain an iman (faith) boost. Sh. Nouman Ali Khan and Sh. Omar Suleiman were among the main speakers at the conference. If you have not heard their lectures yet, I advise you to do so. MashAllah, whenever I am in need of nasiha (advise) or just something beneficial to listen to,  I listen to Nouman Ali Khan's lectures. I heard Sh. Omar Suleiman for the first time on Saturday and I was very impressed by his ability to capture the attention of the audience. SubhanAllah he talked about the importance of parents and had many in tears. If you are in need of an increase in your knowledge of Islam, he is also a great person to listen to. 

Sh. Nouman Ali Khan giving his speech

Me and a few friends

All the girls :)

I had a dream...

I normally don't share my dreams but a few nights ago I had a dream that had a great affect on me. I had a dream about Jannah (Heaven). It was incredibly beautiful and left me shaking. After having the dream, I woke up to look at my phone and saw that it was fajr time. SubhanAllah, I've never had a dream that shook me so much. In my dream, me and two of my friends were running among many people, on a road towards a stop light. As we were running, the light turned from green to yellow, and we feared it would turn red, so we ran as fast as we could. When made it to the end of the road and realized that the light never turned to red. So we stood there as nothing happened waiting and wondering. The road signified Jannah, and for a moment when we reached the end of the road and did not find the heaven Allah s.w.t promised we refused to believe that it didn't exist. I remember us yelling, "No! There has to be a Jannah. Allah would never lie!" And as soon as people started to turn back  after losing hope, all of a sudden, the world around us turned int Jannah. SubhanAllah, Allahu Akbar, La Ilaha Ila Allah, I can't even explain what I saw. Around me, I saw the angels saying "Alsamau Alaykum." I remember feeling a sense of peace.

 Although I don't  know why I had this dream and if it was just a product of my imagination, I feel like it taught me a lesson. I learned that there will come a time when I will be held accountable for my actions no matter how small they were. I learned that this world is absolutely nothing in comparison to the everlasting life that awaits us if Allah wills. InshAllah if we are blessed enough to enter Jannah, this world will feel like a day. We won't remember any of the hardships or pain we went through. Jannah is peace of  mind. Jannah is not something we will ever find in this world--not through money, fame, or anything thing this world has to offer. Let us not come to this realization when it's too late, but now, when we still have the chance to change.

Forgiveness is the distance between your knees and the floor

Source:Tree of Askeron by Mattias Hammar

"Oh son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. Oh son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it." [Tirmidhi and Ahmed]

Naturally when we find ourselves committing a sin over and over again, we begin to lose hope. We feel as though our sins are too great and that Allah will never forgive us. The doubts that fill our mind are a product of Shaitan. Shaitan does his best to convice us that we are not good enough for Allah. He tells us that we are are too hypocritical to stop the sin, let alone get on our knees and ask Allah for His forgiveness. This way of thinking is completely wrong as the hadith explains. Allah is our Creator, He is the Most Merciful and despite our sins, whatever they maybe (except shirk) He will forgive us.Repentence is the key to forgiveness. If we never repent to Allah, how else will we gain His forgiveness? Allah gives us time to repent. From the time that we realize that what we have done is sinful to the time of our death, we can always repent. We must not wait too long though, because only Allah knows when we will die. The concept of forgiveness is repeated many times throughout the Quran. 


"Say: O 'Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins.Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [al-Zumar 39:53]


Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated the Messenger of Allah (salallahu alayhi wa salim) said, "The companion (Angel) on the left lifts his pen for six hours for the Muslim slave that errs or sins. If this slave repents and seeks Allah's forgiveness for that error or sin, the Angel doesn't record it. And if the slave doesn't ask Allah for forgiveness, the Angel records it once. 


How Merciful is our Lord? He doesn't even give the Angels permission to write down our sins until we have had time to repent. Even if we fail to repent, He still gives us time to ask for our sins to be erased. 

I promise to come back

I feel as though I have neglected my blog. I didn't mean to. Life just got the best of me. Summer ended. The new semester started and alhamdulilah my motivation is higher than ever.  I promise to come back though. As soon as I can, I will be resuming blogging because I love it so much and I truly miss it. There's something about blogging that relaxes me. I can write about anything that bothers or excites me, and once I click post...I feel relieved. Til then...

XOXO Riri

Source: Unknown

Love Story

A New American Muslim

                          
I came across Peter Casey's story in The New York Times. He was raised by a Christian father and Jewish mother and converted to Islam as a teenager. He uses the social media as a way to spread knowledge about Islam. 

Halal Nasheeds

    
    The Prophet (Nasheed Video) Dawud Wharnsby Ali
     
      Zain Bhikha-Give Thanks to Allah

I get so excited when I find halal nasheeds to keep me away from music. These two nasheed artists are my favorite. I hope you enjoy their nasheeds as much as I do.